New Delhi: The Union Home Ministry has given Z+ security cover of CRPF to Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan after the standoff between Raj Bhavan and the CPI (M) government in Kerala worsened on Saturday. Arif Mohammed Khan began a sit-in in front of a wayside shop in Kollam district when Students’ Federation of India (SFI) activists allegedly hit his vehicle, making the situation worse.
Khan staged the unprecedented protest at Nilamel in Kollam for more than an hour, saying, “Chief minister (Pinarayi Vijayan) is promoting lawlessness in the state. Lawlessness will not be allowed. It is the CM who is giving protection to these people. They are only the daily wagers of the chief minister. It is the CM who is responsible,” he said. He only ended his protest after the police registered a case against 17 SFI activists and read out the first information report (FIR) in which non-bailable sections were included.
The SFI, the student wing of the CPI (M), has been agitating against the governor, accusing him of filling up university senates with “Sangh Parivar men”.
It all started when Khan was going to attend a function at an ashram in Kollam district. A group of SFI men protested against him, raising slogans and showing black flags. A few of them who were waiting for the governor’s convoy jumped in front of his car with flags. Khan immediately stopped the car and pulled up the local police who were on duty. Senior police officials tried to pacify Khan, who insisted on initiating action against the protestors who had disappeared from the scene. The governor also got angry with police officials for their failure to prevent the SFI activists from protesting against him. Putting the police under pressure, Khan took a chair and sat in front of it for more than an hour. In the meantime, he was heard directing personal staff to get in touch with the offices of the Prime Minister and the Union home minister, as per an Indian Express report.
Later, policemen met the governor with the FIR, registering a case against 17 people, naming 12.
Before ending the protest, Khan told the media, “When I reached here, some people tried to hit my car. I had already said I have no problem if black flags are shown from a distance. But if somebody comes near my car, then I will get down. Police say there were 17 people and you can count the number of policemen present here at the moment. My only question is if the chief minister was passing by this road, will the police allow the protestors to hit the car?”
“I am not blaming the police. Police are taking orders from superiors. The chief minister of the state is promoting lawlessness in the state. It is the chief minister who is giving direction to police to give protection to these law-breakers. Many of them are facing a number of criminal cases. Police are not to be blamed. The chief minister is giving protection to these people. They are the daily-wagers of the chief minister,” he said.
Khan said more than 50 people were involved in the protest but the FIR was only registered against 17 people. “Police should have removed the SFI men. They did not remove them because the chief minister wanted them to do this. It is not a fight against anyone. This is lawlessness, which cannot be allowed. What treatment police had meted out to those who came near the bus of Nava Kerala Sadas (a statewide tour of the Cabinet last year)?” he said.
#WATCH | Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan confronts SFI activists holding a black-flag protest against him in Kollam. Police present on the spot pic.twitter.com/9NaKwz9S0o
— ANI (@ANI) January 27, 2024
